San Nicanor Thermal Campsite was located 13 kms off the main Route 3 on a gravel road. Deep in agricultural country side next to two lakes.
We had to retrace our steps back to the main road this morning and our journey slightly further south was through gentle agricultural vistas with neat and tidy farms and houses. Wide verges all beautifully mowed.
It is like a smaller version of Brazil, with pastures full of grazing beef herds, soybeans and other crops, including millet, which we hadn’t seen before.
Camping Queguay
We came across a sign for the campsite a short distance before Google Maps said we had arrived. We drove in but there was no sign of anyone around the buildings. We thought we would try the entrance Google Maps wanted to take us to. Here there was another camping sign. This time we were met with a closed gate, but with a large bell to ring to attract attention.
Having rung the bell vigorously twice, no one appeared, just an elderly border collie who squeezed through the fence to greet us. We opened the gate and drove in. There was an area of mown grass with tables and benches which looked like a campsite. However, we couldn’t enter it as low hanging tree branches restricted our passage.
We returned to the previous entrance where there was a phone number on the camping sign. I called the number and was surprised to be answered by a lady who spoke English. She advised us to go into her campsite and said she would see us later. A gentleman appeared and opened the gate into a field for us. This allowed us to drive into the camping area we couldn’t reach, because of the low trees, from the opposite side.
Deciding to have lunch before we put up the tent and were in the middle of eating it when a car drew up. A lady we thought was the owner came over. She wasn’t the owner, but her daughter and said weren’t camping in the right place. After we had finished our lunch we were escorted to the proper camping area, located at the far side of the field.
We set up the tent and spent a lazy afternoon by ourselves, with just the company of some horses and a dog.
After some chilli sausage morsels, we were her best friends.
Later a ute pulled up and a lady came over to us. Again we thought she was the owner, but she and her husband were also campers. They had found a beautiful spot by the river, but it was marred by a noisy excavator digging out trees. They came to ask us how long the work and noise had been going on. They were biologists.
The excavator had only arrived an hour or so before. We were far enough away for the noise not to be too bothersome. They were a lovely couple, originally from Argentina, but now living near Colonia, further south in Uruguay. They had just come for a quiet few days camping in the countryside and were horrified by the noise and destruction of the trees.
Tomorrow we will head for the city of Paysandu, the third largest city in Uruguay.
Booking flights
Tonight I have booked our flights back to the UK on 3rd April. We will fly with Latam Airlines via São Paulo to Heathrow. I hope there are no issues with this date as they aren’t flexible tickets. These are, obviously, even more expensive.
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